BREAKING News Out Of Miami- CONVICTED

Miami-Based Violent Criminal Enterprise Members and Associates Convicted at Trial

Charges of Conviction Included Racketeering, Drug Trafficking,

Armed Robberies, and Firearms Used in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking and Violent Crimes

Benjamin G. Greenberg, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Ari C. Shapira for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Division; Special Agent in Charge Robert Lasky for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Adolphus P. Wright for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division; Chief Jorge R. Colina of the City of Miami Police Department (MPD); and Director Juan J. Perez of the Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD) announced the trial convictions of ten members and associates of a violent criminal enterprise operating in Miami, Florida, as part of the Southern District of Florida Violence Reduction Partnership (VRP) initiative.

This prosecution resulted from the Operation Northern Light Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) that began in May of 2015. The Operation Northern Light Task Force is jointly-led by the United States Attorney’s Office in Miami, the FBI, ATF, and DEA, with participation from MPD, MDPD, and other state and local law enforcement agencies, and focuses on the investigation and reduction of organized violent crime in the north end of Miami-Dade County.

In 2017, fourteen individuals were charged by indictment with various criminal acts, including participating in a racketeering conspiracy; facilitating a conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute narcotics, including crack cocaine; commercial armed robberies; and the use of firearms in furtherance of robberies and narcotics trafficking.

Ten of the charged individuals, all of Miami, proceeded to trial and were convicted on September 14, 2018, of the following offenses:

Antonio Glass was convicted of one count of Racketeering Conspiracy, one count of Drug Distribution Conspiracy, and one count of Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Distribute. Glass faces a mandatory minimum term of 10 years and up to life in prison.

Jerimaine Bryant was convicted of one count of Racketeering Conspiracy, one count of Drug Distribution Conspiracy, and three counts of Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Distribute. Jerimaine Bryant faces a mandatory minimum term of 20 years and up to life in prison.

Samuel Hayes was convicted of one count of Racketeering Conspiracy, two counts of Robbery, and one count of Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence. Hayes faces a mandatory minimum term of 5 years and up to life in prison.

Curtis Bryant was convicted of one count of Racketeering Conspiracy, one count of Drug Distribution Conspiracy, and one count of Attempted Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Distribute. Curtis Bryant faces a mandatory minimum term of 10 years and up to life in prison.

Levi Bryant was convicted of one count of Drug Distribution Conspiracy, and one count of Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Distribute. Levi Bryant faces a mandatory minimum term of life in prison.

Michael Walker was convicted of one count of Racketeering Conspiracy, one count of Drug Distribution Conspiracy, and one count Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Distribute. Walker faces a mandatory minimum term of 10 years and up to life in prison.

Reginald Graham was convicted of one count of Racketeering Conspiracy, one count of Drug Distribution Conspiracy, and one count of Attempted Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Distribute. Graham faces a mandatory minimum term of 10 years and up to life in prison.

Daniel Jones was convicted of one count of Drug Distribution Conspiracy. Daniel Jones faces a mandatory minimum term of 10 years and up to life in prison.

Torivis Ingram was convicted of one count of Drug Distribution Conspiracy, and one count of Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Distribute. Ingram faces a mandatory minimum term of life in prison.

Mario Rodriguez was convicted of one count of Drug Distribution Conspiracy, one count of Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Distribute, and one count of Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime. Rodriguez faces a mandatory minimum term of 15 years and up to life in prison.

U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez has scheduled the sentencing hearings of the defendants, who were convicted at trial, on various dates throughout December 2018.

Prior to the trial, co-defendants Vencess Toby, Donzell Jones, and Latitia Houser pled guilty to one count of Conspiracy to Possess a Controlled Substance with Intent to Distribute. Toby was sentenced to 60 months in prison. Donzell Jones was sentenced to 188 months in prison. Houser is scheduled to be sentenced on September 18, 2018.

Quincy Bryant, the last remaining defendant charged under the indictment, is scheduled to proceed to trial on October 29, 2018, before Judge Martinez. An indictment is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

During the trial, evidence was presented, including civilian and law enforcement witness testimony, that proved how the charged racketeering enterprise, which used names such as the Dub Side Blood Family (DSBF), conducted its unlawful business practices and controlled the South Gwen Cherry Housing Complex in the Allapattah neighborhood of Miami for over seventeen years. Witness testimony established how the DSBF members routinely robbed victims at gunpoint and sold narcotics. The enterprise’s criminal spree included five commercial businesses, including MetroPCS locations, a Food Plus store, and the armed robberies of drug dealers.

The evidence at trial showed that the DSBF became so emboldened that they told a future homicide victim’s own mother that her son would be killed. The DBSF followed through on that promise with his subsequent murder. Similarly, trial evidence showed members of the group celebrated after killing another victim by posting images of the deceased’s body in a casket. The trial evidence also included jailhouse phone calls and private messages which captured DSBF members discussing the operation of their organization and proposed responses to circumvent law enforcement’s investigation into the criminal enterprise. Trial evidence from the defendants’ social media and cellular phone records demonstrated the group’s ability to continue criminal activity despite periods of time when members were incarcerated.

U.S. Attorney Benjamin Greenberg said, “Justice has been served for the residents of Allapattah, with the convictions of members and associates of a violent criminal enterprise that threatened the public’s safety. Today’s announcement leaves no doubt that the lure of gang culture and criminality does not pay. The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our Violence Reduction Partners stand ready to continue our enforcement efforts, in order to protect our South Florida communities and combat violent crime.

ATF Special Agent in Charge Ari C. Shapira stated, “I am pleased by the results of this outstanding investigation worked jointly with our federal, state and local partners. It highlights the value of our collaborative effort to reduce violent crime in our community. Dedicated ATF Special Agents, Task Force Officers and their partners will relentlessly continue to help improve those vulnerable neighborhoods plagued by gun violence.”

“Drugs and the violent gangs that profit from them have a devastating effect on our communities and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to make South Florida a safer place,” said Scott A. Rottman, acting Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami. “The FBI is committed to using every legal means available, including federal racketeering statutes, to dismantle these criminal enterprises who plague our society.”

“The dismantlement of this violent organization has allowed for a major criminal element to be removed from the community of Allapattah,” stated DEA Special Agent in Charge Adolphus Wright. “The efforts from those involved illustrates the devotion and success of the Violence Reduction Partnership which has allowed law enforcement partners at the federal and local levels to work together to rid communities of the criminal afflictions which have plagued them for far too long, and to continue efforts to keep these communities as safe as possible.”

MPD Chief Colina stated, “We are pleased with the outcome of this joint investigation, and are always available to work with our local and federal partners to make the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County the safest community in the nation.”

“The professionalism exhibited during this investigation and the commitment to work together, solidifies the collaboration between federal and local law enforcement. The dedication and efforts of United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida are to be commended.” said Juan J. Perez, MDPD Director. “The Miami-Dade Police Department is committed to this collaborative endeavor and will not stop working toward our goal of establishing a safe and secure environment, free from crime and the fear of crime.”

The investigation of this enterprise was jointly led by the ATF, FBI, DEA, MPD, and MDPD. Key participants in the investigation included the MPD’s Narcotics Unit, Gun Squad, Gang Intelligence Detail, Homicide Unit, and Robbery Unit; the MDPD’s Robbery Bureau, Narcotics Bureau, Homicide Bureau, and Street Violence Task Force. The investigation was also supported by the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Homestead Police Department the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department’s Security Threat Group Unit, and the South Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Task Force to include the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area-Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Gang Strike Force.

Through the collaborative Violence Reduction Partnership (VRP), the U.S. Attorney’s Office and its federal and local law enforcement allies have sought to dismantle the most violent criminal networks that plague communities throughout the Southern District of Florida. The charges announced today are the result of the VRP’s law enforcement initiatives. Additional information regarding the VRP initiatives is available at [email protected](link sends e-mail) (link sends e-mail) or by calling (305) 961-9134.

This case is the result of the ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) a partnership that brings together the combined expertise and unique abilities of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, dismantle and prosecute members of drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations and enterprises.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ignacio J. Vazquez and Ilham Hosseini.

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